Altman chose to improve team rather than fear helping Lakers get LeBron

Fear can be quite the motivator. But often times, it can also prevent you from doing what you should do. During Cavs general manager Koby Altman’s deadline day overhaul, fear could have been a primary motivator. But it wasn’t.

In a detailed post-mortem of the flurry of deals the Cavs made last week from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, we see that Altman was motivated to keep the team together and give LeBron James a reason to stay. He was not worried about opening things up for a potential LeBron suitor in the Lakers. Rather, he focused on his team and what he could control rather than whatever LeBron decides this summer.

If the Lakers and James wanted to be together, the Cavaliers couldn’t stop it. Altman and Lakers GM Rob Pelinka had expanded conversations beyond Clarkson to include Nance. There came a crystallization that the Cavs were taking a far bigger risk passing on players who fit Cleveland’s profile than rejecting a trade based on the possibility of bad optics in July.

Immediately after the trade for Clarkson and Nance went through, several folks realized what the trade with the Cavs allowed the Lakers to do. The Lakers could create max cap space to pursue James and another max level free agent.

Former Cav Kyrie Irving’s twitter bio reads ‘Fear is not real.’ And it seems that is something that Altman ascribes to as well. Rather than fear how it would look allowing the Lakers to create cap space, he controlled what he could and found players who could give the Cavs a new identity.

Altman impressed everyone with his flurry of moves, even LeBron. And if things fail, they will fail. If LeBron leaves, he leaves. Rather than fear the potential of LeBron’s departure, he focused on giving the Cavs a new lease on life and a better chance to keep the King at home.

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